Fiat 1100 B Stella Alpina Cabriolet

The Fiat 1100 B Stella Alpina Cabriolet was a two-seat open car built by Stabilimento Monviso in Turin in 1947–1948, using Fiat 1100 B mechanical components. Its body belonged to the Stella Alpina programme, which included both open and closed Fiat-based designs. The Archivio Storico Michelotti documents the 1100 B Coupé and Spider as work by Giovanni Michelotti, with Monviso responsible for constructing the coachwork. Later Stella Alpina versions also used the Fiat 1100 E as their basis.

The open cars appear in surviving documentation under several descriptions, including Cabriolet, Spider and Cabriolet leggero. Their two-seat layout differed from the standard Fiat saloon. Finarte’s description of chassis 289609 records the removal of the rear doors and a change in the direction in which the front doors opened. These details describe the body of that particular car; the available documentation does not establish that every open Stella Alpina had an identical door arrangement.

A technical sheet for the Monviso 1100 B Cabriolet gives a 1,089 cc inline-four engine rated at 32 CV at 4,400 rpm. It lists an overall length of 4,020 mm, a width of 1,482 mm, a height of 1,540 mm and a weight of 890 kg, together with a maximum speed of 110 km/h. These published figures describe the open variant rather than measurements recorded individually for each surviving chassis.

Two separate cars dated 1947 are documented. Chassis 289609, with engine 323963, appears in Finarte’s dossier with ASI certification and a history of conservative restoration. Chassis 287322, fitted with engine 320333, is described separately by a specialist dealer with ASI Targa Oro and FIVA certification. Their distinct chassis and engine numbers establish more than one example, although a complete production total has not been established.

The specialist account associated with chassis 287322 also records Stella Alpina participation in the 1948 and 1949 Mille Miglia. Segrè and Martignoni finished second in the Touring class up to 1,100 cc in 1948, while Segrè and Valenzano won the class in 1949. The account does not identify either competition car by chassis number, leaving those results associated with the Stella Alpina type rather than with either documented survivor.